SAN FRANCISCO — Zynga's stock bounced today with a little help from lady luck.

The social games giant announced that on Wednesday it will launch ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino for players in the UK, the start of its real-money gambling. The launch is in partnership with gaming operator Bwin.party.

Shares of Zynga, which closed 2.9% lower, rebounded 8% to $3.33 in after-hours trading following the news.

"We look forward to launching our social versions of real money games for players on Facebook and mobile in the UK throughout 2013," says Barry Cottle, chief revenue officer of Zynga, in a blog post.

ZyngaPlusPoker is an online poker game while ZyngaPlusCasino offers more than 160 slot machines and table games. Games could be played on the Web or over a downloaded app.

Analysts say real money gambling offers a big wild card to Zynga's business prospects in the U.S. The gaming giant has filed an application for a license with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. That could pair well with the long-standing popularity of its Texas HoldEmPoker.